


Thanks for Choosing Me

by AR33001



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Developing Relationship, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 12,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AR33001/pseuds/AR33001
Summary: You're woken up one day to an Impidimp stealing your precious berries in the middle of the night... and your life is never the same again.A journey of how a certain impish pokemon has helped you heal your past bad times, your current bad times, and any bad times to come... if there were any with him around.Impidimp Evolution Line x Reader... Eventually! There'll be some mature themes late fic... and a bit of smut. Read at your own risk!
Relationships: Ohlonge | Grimmsnarl/Reader
Comments: 43
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! First pokemon fic, and can I just say I'm in LOVE with the Impidimp evo line, and this is mainly just a whole bunch of my daydreams about how life would be like if I could actually have one... which I want more than anything in the world right now haha.
> 
> There's a scene in later chapters which will include some talk of violence, (perhaps even of a sexual nature), but not for now and I'll amend the warnings accordingly. Just so you're aware for the long run (if you continue to read this humble writing of mine).

‘Argh, dammit, you stupid Impidimp, stop running right now!’ you cried in absolute frustration, chasing the mischievous little bugger all around the space of your house. It had snuck in during the night (it was around 2am right now), and made an attempt at stealing some of your berries in the fridge, and when it couldn’t open the fridge, it ended up toppling the whole thing onto the floor in a crash, which woke you up in time to find it in the act.

The said Impidimp just laughed at you with some of the berries it had already started to chew in its mouth, spilling the juice and pulp all over your living room floor. The stains would be incredibly sticky to clean up, and just made you angrier at how the Impidimp was just making all this mess like he owned the place.

‘Look, you little shit, if you return the berries you’ve got and leave, now, I’ll think about letting you go without fainting,’ you gave it the most menacing glare you could muster, and you saw it shiver a bit on the high cupboard it was currently taking refuge on. You could tell it was feeling a little doubt for picking your precious berries to feast on tonight. You had an important gym badge match tomorrow, against Opal for goodness sake, and really didn’t need this kind of trouble tonight!

‘I’m gonna count to three, and you’re gonna give up the berries and leave. If you don’t, my Onigiri will bust your tiny ass into the next year,’ you shook the pokeball in your fist at it, meaning every single word.

It seemed to regain its composure however, and laughed at you, chucking another berry into its mouth and chewing it loudly, with its mouth open. Your eyebrow twitched in annoyance. ‘That is IT!’ you pretty much screamed and released Onigiri, your beloved Tyranitar, from its pokeball. He looked a little dazed being released at this time in the morning, roused from its slumber, but once it saw how irate you were, it woke up quickly. You and Onigiri had a strong bond (with him being with you since it was a little Larvitar), and it grasped the situation at hand, glaring at the Impidimp.

The Impidimp’s lip quivered a bit (and you tried your best to keep your stern face on, it knew there was no way it could win against a Tyranitar; it’s fear was making your resolve waver), and it got down from the cupboard, landing on the floor in front of you.

You didn’t let up though. ‘One…’ you started, and the Impidimp took out two berries from behind its back.

‘Two…’ you kept your harsh voice, hands on your hips. The Impidimp hesitated a bit, still clutching the berries.

‘Three!’ And just as you said this, the cheeky Impidimp stuffed the berries into its mouth and made a run for it.

‘Onigiri, tackle NOW!’ you commanded, and he obeyed, easily knocking out the Impidimp.

You let out a sigh, feeling a little bit of remorse for the imp, despite how much trouble it caused you. You knew the level difference between the two pokemon, perhaps you should’ve let up a bit? Argh, it did not matter, you decided, as you ran your fingers through your hair. Turning to Onigiri, you pet him gently, feeling the tension leave you as you noticed how tired he looked.

‘Sorry buddy’, you cooed gently, ‘but thanks for helping me, as always, you come to my rescue.' Onigiri let out a tired sound of approval, and you let him back into his pokeball to sleep.

Sighing again, you turned to the Impidimp passed out on your floor, berries still in its mouth. You pulled out a revive from your draw and used it on him.

It woke with a start, before choking slightly on its berries. You gently pat its back, waiting for it to recover. ‘You okay?’

It looked at you, surprise filling its features, before jumping to the farthest corner of the room away from you. It was scouring the place for Onigiri, and you smiled knowingly. ‘Nope, he’s not here, he’s sleeping. Won’t come out again, so please, just leave now,’ you said, sounding extremely fed up and almost pleading.

The Impidimp frowned, but nodded once, then left out of the open window.

Looking around at the mess in the room, you sighed again before spraying the floor where the berry juice was with strong cleaning liquid and wiping it. You then just went straight upstairs to bed, the time now 3am, hoping your body would okay the next day for the match.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guest appearance from Raihan! Love that dragon babe ~

You just about won your match with Opal, a few of your main team fainting before you got your final win with Onigiri. 

You were an upcoming gym challenger and was already gaining a lot of popularity with the spectators. Not only that, you were endorsed by Raihan, your long-time friend. Speaking of Raihan, he’d come to meet you outside the stadium, right after your match. You were exhausted from the whole debacle last night with the Impidimp, and his face was a welcome one, despite your fatigue.

‘Hey, (Name)! Congrats on your win, though I must admit you had me worried there for a while. What happened?’ he said, his Rotom phone at the ready to snap a selfie with your tired face in it.

‘You won’t believe it, Raihan!’ you started, venting out your frustrations to him. ‘I’m so damn tired! This Impidimp broke in last night and stole my berries! What the hell?! Has that ever happened to you?! They’re so damn annoying, little pieces of sh-’ 

‘Woah, woah, an Impidimp?’ Raihan cut you off, not satisfied with your angry form in his selfie and told his Rotom to take another one.

‘YES! Cheeky little buggers,’ you mumbled, going into the details of what happened in a flying taxi to Hammerlock, Raihan laughing at your misfortune the whole way. 

‘So, what did you do with him in the end?’ he asked, the two of you entering your favourite restaurant and sitting down, placing your orders.

‘Well, I let it go. I revived it, so it wouldn’t choke on its berries, and told it to leave,’ you shrugged.

Raihan stared at you blankly. 

‘What?’ you asked.

‘So… you didn’t catch it?’ Raihan asked, super surprised for some reason.

‘No, why would I do that?!’ you said, appalled at the idea of having something so troublesome to train and bond with. You two would not ever get along, in a million years.

‘Then, why is there an Impidimp following you?’ 

‘What?’

Raihan gestured his head to the table behind you, and you turned around so sharply that the said Impidimp didn’t have enough time to hide behind the chair. You couldn’t believe your eyes. It was the same one from yesterday, you just knew it!

‘You! What are you doing here?!’ you stood up suddenly, making the other customers in the restaurant wonder what was going on. The cashier gave you a pointed stare, and you flushed in embarrassment, before sitting back down quietly.

‘Well, aren’t you gonna adopt it?’ Raihan asked in a teasing tone.

‘Ha! You must be joking!’ you exclaimed, determined to ignore it.

And yet, throughout the rest of your dinner, walking home, when you parted ways with Raihan, all the way to your front door, it had followed you diligently.

You stopped short of your front door, and let out a loud frustrated sigh, turning to the little Imp like creature.

‘What are you playing at? Go home! Stop tailing me! You’re bad luck and I want nothing to do with you!’ 

The Impidimp jumped at your sudden outburst (especially so long after ignoring it), then took on a sad expression at your hurtful words. 

You instantly regretted saying it as soon as you saw that expression and softened your voice. ‘Okay okay, sorry, don’t look so sad…’

It looked a little teary eyed, letting out a whimper as if it were on the verge of crying. You both stood there for a long moment, neither of you moving as you contemplated the situation.

You unlocked the front of your door, stepped inside and held the door open.

‘Come on then,’ you said to the Impidimp, gesturing it to come inside. Its eyes lit up immediately, jumping in what you could only assume was pure joy, as it bounded inside your house.

‘But I want no trouble, okay? Hey- wait- don’t touch that-!’ you rushed inside and shut the door, starting an entirely new exciting chapter of your life with this little bundle of trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a short one this time!

Life with your Impidimp, who you had decided to name Imae, was never dull. It was still (adorably) terrified of your Tyranitar, but that was to be expected, and it was the only pokemon in your party that was on its first evolution – all the others fully evolved. Imae was the mischievous brat of the group, and yet was strangely involved with all the other pokemon.

It spoke to your Chandelure with ease, mostly positively, but annoyed the hell out of your Gyarados. You had to calm him more than a couple times to stop immanent rampaging (admittedly, his temper was a lot like your own, and you pleaded with him to be more understanding, despite knowing how hard that was with Imae sometimes).

For the most part, your Tyranitar and Corviknight, both being quite mature, ignored all of Imae’s antics altogether. 

However, Imae was mostly with you through the day. He had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to be a fully-fledged member of the team, contributing to trainer matches. At first, you had thought it would be fine with him just tagging along (seeing as he followed you around regardless), but once he was forced out into battle (through another pokemon’s move), and was just terrified at the difference in power of the opposing pokemon.

He was a little afraid of battles after that and clung desperately onto the back of your neck and shoulders for comfort, refusing to go back into his pokeball. He even slept with you at night during that time, and your heart went out to him, guilt piercing you every time you saw him shake – you should’ve taken his training more seriously before it got to that stage so he could put up a fight for himself.

On that night, with Imae gripping the fabric of your pyjamas in his distressed sleep, you promised you would train him with everything you had. He would never be scared again, and you would always be there for him. You had shed a couple tears, hugging his bald little head close to your chest.

It had been a couple months since then, and Imae was coming along well. He’d had a few friendly matches with Raihan’s lower level pokemon (he had a few pokemon he was training up too) and was overcoming his fear. He was as mischievous as ever in battle, as out of it, and things were looking up.

Until one day you walked into your kitchen, and saw a lanky, long haired, fang-toothed pokemon you had never seen before raiding your fridge for berries, chomping down on some already, like he owned the place.

‘W- What the hell?! What are you doing in my fridge?! Give me back the berries right now!!’ you shrieked.

Déjà vu much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually named my first Impidimp Imae, inspired by a BL I'm reading on Lezhin at the moment...


	4. Chapter 4

Before you even had the chance to do anything with at the mysterious pokemon, your pokedex pinged to congratulate you. This confused you enough to pull out the pokedex, as it seemed the berry thief was genuinely scared of your raised voice to not move as you did this.

‘Congratulations’ the text read. ‘Your Impidimp has evolved into a Morgrem!’

‘Morgrem?’ you questioned, comparing the picture on the screen to the mysterious pokemon in your kitchen.

‘W-wait, you’re telling me you’re Imae?! I missed you evolving?! How in the hell did that happen?’ You felt your heart sink into your stomach.

‘Fuck, I’m so sorry, I never should have gone shopping this morning without you, dammit,’ you said, dropping your shopping bags and closing the distance between you and Imae.

He had finished chewing his berries and was now sitting on top of your kitchen counter, smiling at you sweetly. You were overcome with guilt once again, and he let you scoop him into your arms. You hugged your Morgrem tightly into your chest, kissing the top of his head.

‘Now this is something I’ll need to get used to! Hair on your head!’ you said, holding back tears and pulling away to run your fingers through it gently. It was so soft. Suddenly, Imae clutched your hand just as you were finishing running your hand through the length of his hair. He shook his head solemnly and pointed at the sharp edges towards the end of his hair.

‘Wow, so sharp! I need to be careful when we play around now!’ 

Your Morgrem laughed, and you suddenly felt so enamoured with him. His smile was beautiful.

You kissed the top of his head quickly, and he jumped back down onto the floor, no doubt running into your garden to cause trouble for a slumbering Gyarados.

Your smile faded as you watched him disappear through the door. Seriously though, how the fuck did you miss his evolution? And you called yourself a trainer!? This was such an important moment in his life, and it was stolen from you! How the hell did he get the experience while you were away anyways?!

A figure emerged from your garden, making you jump and shear away from your thoughts.

‘Hey, (Name), the door was open, so I let myself in! I bought some candies for your pokemon too! Did you see your Impidimp had evolved-?’

‘Sam?! What the fuck! Did you give Imae a Rare Candy?!’ you nearly shouted at the man, who was supposed to be your boyfriend, in front of you.

‘Um, hello to you too. I think so? They were all mixed so-’

‘I missed his evolution! I missed it because you came into my house, when I wasn’t home might I add, and gave him a fucking piece of candy! Without my permission!’ You balled your fists, pacing the kitchen floor, tears welling up again and threatening to spill.

‘Jeez, calm down (Name), it was only his first one. Morgrem evolve one more time I think…? No big deal,’ Sam shrugged his shoulders. 

‘No big deal?’ you seethed. Oh, he was really pissing you off. You couldn’t even look at him.

‘Hey…’ Sam came up to you and touched your shoulder gently. ‘Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t know he was so close to evolving okay? It was an accident.’ 

He pulled you into a hug, which you didn’t reciprocate, due to the anger bubbling in the pit of your stomach. You weren’t yet ready to forgive him… 

You took a deep breath, calming yourself before tugging away from Sam. ‘Just… leave for today please?’

‘I just got here!’ Sam exclaimed.

‘Yes, but you’ve done plenty. I’ll see you later,’ you said, walking to the front door and opening it for him. 

‘(Name), don’t be like this. I said I was sorry,’ Sam stayed put in the kitchen entrance, a glint of his own anger in his eyes.

‘Please Sam, I need time to get over this. Not now, I’ll see you later, just leave please,’ you pleaded with him.

You were quick to anger but it fizzed out quickly, often giving way to an accurate, deeper feeling (such as sadness, remorse, guilt, etc). But Sam’s anger was different. You sensed it simmered below a kind façade, building up and never releasing… at least never with you. He was always kind to you, but there was something fake you had noticed about this type of kindness in the 6 months or so you had been dating…

‘(Name). I just. Got. Here. I am not leaving.’ Sam said almost threateningly. What right did he have to say that to you?! This was your house!

…And yet you felt so drained, so tired, this had happened so many times before. If this carried on, Sam would become more unbearable towards you and you just didn’t want to deal with it.

…You wanted to hold Imae.

This last thought spilled slow tears over the bottom of your lashes, running down your cheeks onto your floor.

Before Sam could say anything, another voice called out to you. ‘(Name)! What’s wrong?!’

You snapped your head up to see Raihan’s worried form run up the pathway to you. That’s right, you had made plans to train today…

‘Yeah fine, Raihan. Can we meet up another day please? Something’s come up,’ you said, wiping your tears. Raihan was about to say something before spotting Sam inside the house.

‘Everything okay?’ Raihan asked the both of you cautiously, sensing the tension.

‘Sam was just leaving,’ you said, and now with Raihan here, he wouldn’t dare say anything against you.

‘Yes… I’ll see you later, (Name),’ he said as he passed you, a hint of venom only noticeable to you in his words.

With him out of sight, Raihan questioned you a bit before leaving himself, seeing as you weren’t crying anymore (and you insisted you would explain later).

With the door firmly shut and locked, you crashed onto the sofa, and called for Imae.


	5. Chapter 5

Imae answered your call immediately, running into the house to find your bright smile and open arms, a sight he was used to seeing in his 30 levels or so with you… and never wanted to stop seeing.

He jumped up at you, and you held him tighter than usual, unmoving and unlaughing.

When you didn’t move for around 10 seconds or so (far too long for the energetic Morgrem), he shifted around a bit, feeling a bit bored but didn’t break the embrace.

Then he heard a sniffle. And something wet on his shoulder. Even though he was a pokemon, no, maybe even more so (attributing to his fairy type perhaps), he sensed your sadness. Imae frowned deeply, feeling it as much as you did. What was making you like this?

‘I’m sorry I missed your evolution…’ you whispered to him.

Was that why you were so sad? Well, he would be lying if he wasn’t a bit sad either, but… it didn’t change anything for him. He still liked you just as much as when he was an Impidimp.

Your Morgrem pulled away from you and saw your tear stained face and whimpered.

The sound pulled you back from the pit of despair you could feel yourself spiralling into. Argh, what were you doing?! Crying in front of your pokemon like that! …But you just had such a hard time holding it together. This hurt you so much.

Fucking Sam. This was almost a worthy reason to break up... if you felt you could.

Imae felt a sudden surge of anger through you, directed at that man that was here earlier, the one who gave him a candy. Did he do something to you? 

Imae put his hand on the top of your head, something that you had done to comfort him countless times before, and this simple gesture shocked you. Was he trying to make you feel better?

Then, you felt a hand sneakily catch your hair tie from behind your head, letting your hair loose.

Your Morgrem jumped off you and gloated the treasure he’d stolen – your hair tie – at you and laughed loudly, running off into the garden again.

You sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds, before jumping up as well.

‘Hey! You little rascal, give me that back!’ you shouted, grinning form ear to ear as you gave chase to Imae, with your Tyranitar, Corviknight, Chandelure and Gyarados joining in the chaos.

And all your troubles didn’t mean a thing in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

You needed to address your relationship with Sam. It was getting a bit too much to bear with now… or, well, at any time.

He’d been your first ‘real’ relationship, and quite honestly, at the beginning you were blown away by him. His bright blue eyes, dusty blond hair, his smile, and warmth with how he regarded you. When you first met him, he was nearing the end of a rocky relationship with an ex and didn’t want to be alone. You thought you knew better than to be the rebound girl, and you were there for him as a friend, not really harbouring any feelings for him until one day he kissed you.

You were gullible and naïve, believing he was over his ex (as some time had passed since his break up), and for a while, things were great between you two.

Until one day, he’d start to question where you were, who you were with and what you were doing a bit too frequently. You’d thought this was just natural, having never been in a relationship before, but even then, some alarm bells were ringing in the distance. You'd wished you'd listened to them.

It just got worse and worse, until before you’d realised it, you’d stopped hanging out with friends without him being present. He’d started leaving his things in your house, staying over a bit more, and slowly seeping his way into every aspect of your life. This wouldn’t be so bad, but he began to change around you. Became fixated on the smallest things… like now, for instance.

‘We need to keep going, (Name)! My Rapidash has to beat your Morgrem!’ Sam yelled from the other side of the public training grounds.

You sighed. This was the 7th battle in a row (without breaks might you add), that Sam had forced you into a 3 v 3 pokemon battle, with Imae being the last left standing each time winning you all 6 before. You took great pride in Imae, he’d matured over the course of his levels so well, becoming an integrated part of your main team you could never even dream of battling without. In those levels, you’d grown more attached to him than you’d like to admit.

And yet, calling Imae out of his poke ball for the 7th time, seeing his visible fatigue in the way he stood, was bringing you to your breaking point. Why were you doing this to him, let alone your Chandelure and Gyarados?! Why was Sam making you do this?! You looked across to his extremely tired Rapidash on the opposite side of the court, and winced. You felt sorry for her, having a trainer like Sam, then a cold shiver passed over you as you realised you were no different from her - ensnared in Sam's horrible trap.

Your Morgrem snapped that train of thought as he turned to face you, like he did before every battle when you called him out, and gave you a wistful smile, as if knowing your pain. Even still, he jumped about and turned his attention to the field and opponent in front of him.

'No', you thought, 'I can’t let Morgrem battle. He’ll hurt himself. I’ll never forgive myself. I promised I would protect him since he was an Impidimp! This should’ve stopped a long time ago, long before it got to this point.' Heals and revives weren’t gonna cut it in place of proper rest.

‘Sam!’ you called out, a sharp, definitive tone to your voice. ‘I yield. My pokemon need rest.’ 

‘I think not! It’s the last match up. Now, your move!’ he shot back. 

What? Was he serious? You yielded just now!

‘No, I yield! I won’t make Imae fight, he’s done enough,’ you said, your tone a little harsher. Imae turned cautiously towards you, sensing your fear and anxiety.

‘(Name), hurry, otherwise I’ll take the first move,’ Sam said threateningly. His eyes pierced through yours, his gaze a stubborn one you’d met with far too often these days. He wasn’t going to give up.

You heard your Morgrem make a sound of approval from his place in front of you. You instantly knew what he meant; he’d take this last round. Your heart shattered.

You were chastising Sam for being a terrible trainer, but what were you if not the same as him, making Imae take this battle?

And yet, you were made to feel you had no choice. Sam’s anger pierced through you, forcing you to yield not the match, but to him.

‘Promise it’s the last one!’ you shouted at him, tears forming in your eyes, but you doubt he would notice from this distance.

‘Yes! Now hurry and make your move,’ he shouted back, less venom in his voice now he was getting his way.

With a heavy heart, you gave your orders to Imae who executed them perfectly, despite how tired he was, and Sam’s Rapidash fainted to retreat into her pokeball, finally bringing the battle to a close.

You ran over and hugged Imae once all was clear, not even sparing a glance at Sam. He was not your priority. 

‘Thank you,’ you whispered into his hair, as he made a tired sound of comfort and snuggled into your neck, eyelids droopy. You held him and then realised he was quite dirty and needed a bath. You hated sending your pokemon to their pokeballs dirty, it was basic hygiene, yet you couldn’t deny your Morgrem his rest any longer.

Carefully, you pulled away from him and got out his pokeball. ‘In you go. Rest well,’ you whispered, and he vanished into the capsule.

…Now, to face Sam.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your comments! Even though I've only got 2, it means a lot more to me than you guys think! Hope you continue to enjoy the story :)

Livid didn’t even begin to describe how Sam was feeling right now.

‘What the fuck?! I lost 7 times! All because of that damn imp!’ he practically shouted as you two began to walk towards your house.

It was the late evening, and most people and pokemon had turned in for the night… where you two should have been if not for the excessive battles.

His shouting went in one ear and out the other. You didn’t listen to him at all, worry filling your head for your pokemon instead. How much time would they need to recover? Could you buy them some berries to help? Maybe cook them a curry? How many different ones did you need to make, as their natures were different? A sour one for Imae, a sweet for your Chandelure, right? About your Gyarados, you were sure he liked dry food... You also needed to bathe them all, then they would surely feel better too, well, apart from your Chandelure, who usually didn’t need you to clean him-

‘(Name)! Answer me when I’m talking to you!’ Sam was suddenly in front of you, blocking your path.

‘Oh… sorry, what did you say?’ you said sheepishly.

Sam let out an exasperated sigh and swore. ‘Fuck! (Name), I can’t deal with you right now. I’m going home.’

Thank the lord, you thought, as you watched him backtrack in the direction you came from towards his house, leaving you alone in the night. You would really get it the next time you saw him if you didn’t go after him, but for now, you were so ready for him to leave.

You looked around, realising you were basically at the end of your road, and then stood staring blankly up at the star spattered sky.

Today was too much. You needed to break up with Sam.

The words ‘break up’ set a sudden wave of anxiety and fear rippling through you. If you two broke up, then what? Would you ever be able to find someone who loved you as much as he did? …Did he even love you? No, wait, did you love him? You thought you did, and the words came out of your mouth easily to him. But was this just to appease him, not the truth? 

‘Argh,’ you ran your hands across your face, then walked slowly back to your house. You'd leave this mental conversation for tomorrow. 

Sleep did not come easy that night as you were wrecked with guilt, and eventually when it did come, it was light and restless.

When you woke the next morning, 30 minutes past your alarm, you felt like shit. No surprises there. As you swung your legs off the bed, you caught your phone vibrating with a call. Your breath hitched in your throat, expecting it to be Sam to go off on one about how you didn’t call him last night, but you relaxed when you saw it was Raihan.


	8. Chapter 8

You picked up immediately. ‘Hey,’ your voice sounded groggy from the terrible sleep.

‘Just woke up, (Name)?’ Raihan’s amused voice form the other end of line was comforting. 

‘Yeah… what’s up?’ you asked, standing up and attempting to make your bed with one hand as you held the phone to your ear with the other.

‘Just, I haven’t heard from you in a while – or seen you for that matter. You free later today? Let’s battle!’ Raihan said enthusiastically, and while you would’ve jumped at the chance, the prospect of a battle made you wince.

But you wanted to see him. Raihan was your only friend that Sam couldn’t crack into. The only part of your life he wasn’t ruining. Even though you two hadn’t talked about your relationship with Sam openly, you knew he had his suspicions. Which were partially confirmed by not meeting him as frequently as you used to (by Sam’s request, of course).

‘Um, can we meet but just… not battle?’ you asked cautiously.

‘Huh?’ Raihan sounded surprised. This was the first time you’d refused a friendly battle. In fact, because he knew you were training Imae, you were always leaping at the chance to. What had gotten into you? ‘I mean, yeah, sure. I’ll pick you up around 3pm.’

‘Thanks, Raihan. See you then.’ You hung up, feeling a lot perkier than you did before the call, and grabbed a change of clothes for after your shower.

As you were walking past your pokeballs, you spotted one of them shaking violently, the pokemon inside begging to be let out. You did a double take, as it was Imae’s.

Without hesitation, you let him out and were greeted by a dazzling smile, boisterous laughter, and frantic prancing around your bedroom. He was happy, and you felt your spirits rising by the second. 

‘Aren’t you tired, buddy?’ you asked him, his smile contagiously spreading to your lips. ‘How are you feeling?’

He stopped his movement to beam up at you, reassuring you he was fine. Relief washed over you, but it wasn’t over yet. You knelt to him, and gently checked his body for remaining wounds or lasting scars. He was fine, and your heart fluttered as you enveloped him in a hug. You went to kiss the top of his head, and when some dust coated your lips form his hair, you were quickly reminded he needed a bath.

As much as you loved him, you hated dirt, and so you let go of Imae. ‘Let’s have a bath together, yeah?’ you asked, and Imae nodded his head excitedly, following you to the bathroom.


	9. Chapter 9

You hadn’t bathed with Imae since he was an Impidimp. You had a hybrid bath with a shower head attached to the wall, and before you ran the bath, you sprayed Imae in the tub with warm water in attempt to rinse the majority of dirt off of him.

He stood there as still as he could (which wasn’t very still at all, but you were used to it) as you ran your special pokemon shampoo through his hair, massaging his scalp a bit. You saw him smile in relaxation, as you knew exactly the spots he liked massaged best. When you rinsed it out, a little bit of water got in his eyes, which he made a lot of noise complaining about.

‘Well then keep your eyes shut!’ you laughed, spraying the remainder of the shampoo out of his hair, careful not to get pricked by the sharp edges on the ends.

Imae huffed and rubbed his eyes but was okay. You then ran the bath, a relatively clean Imae splashing about in the bathtub while you stripped and when the water was full enough, jumped in with him.

You sighed gently, closing you eyes as the water eased your tensions away. You swiftly opened them when your Morgrem had splashed you with water in the face.

‘Excuse me! Can’t you see I’m trying to relax? I just got in!’ you tried to act harsh but was failing miserably, unable to contain the grin on your face.

You were just so damned relieved that he was okay.

It didn’t make the fact that it got that far okay, or erase the guilt weighing down on you for letting it happen. Why did this little imp stick around with such a crap trainer like you, anyways? You’d messed up so much with him, and yet as you watched Imae, he seemed as happy and content as ever sharing a bath with you and playing in the bubbles.

You really did love him.

As if he heard your thoughts, Imae stopped swatting the bubbles furiously and turned to face you.

‘What is it?’ you smiled at him.

Imae waddled towards you in the water and gave you the closest thing to a hug you had ever received from him. 

Sure, you’d received half (or as best as they could manage with their shapes) hugs that your Tyranitar, Corviknight and Gyrados could possibly give you, but the best you got with Imae was him fidgeting in your embrace. Being a human-shaped pokemon, you reckoned he could always hug you if he really wanted to, but it wasn’t in his nature, and that was okay with you.

Now, he sat straddling your hips in the water, arms wrapped around your waist, as he made his face comfortable right in between your breasts. 

You were too shocked to move for a second, before registering what was happening and returning the hug. Tears were forming behind your eyes, but you dare not let them spill and ruin the moment. Maybe it was because you were naked, but the hug felt so much more intimate somehow – you could feel something shifting in your relationship, and you weren’t sure how, or why, or what.

After the stillest 20 seconds of Imae’s life, he jolted into motion again and moved away from you, beginning to splash about in the bubbles and water as if nothing had happened.

You grinned, deciding that whatever change had just occurred, it could only be good based on how giddy you were feeling right now.

With that feeling settling in your chest, your rose out of the bath and got yourself, and Imae (who was very reluctant to leave the bath) ready for meeting Raihan at 3pm.


	10. Chapter 10

Your morning after your bath with Imae had been one of healing and mending your relationship with not only your precious imp, but your Gyarados and Chandelure who had endured Sam’s battles yesterday too. The two of them woke up after your bath, and you cooked them some tasty treats according to their tastes for breakfast. Though you had been so nervous to take them out of their pokeballs, fully understanding if they never wanted to see you again. However, once you did, you sensed no hostility or loss of trust. They loved you still, and it shone in their honest eyes and smiles. That was enough for you to vow never to push them that far again.

It was hardly 11am when you heard the doorbell ring. That couldn’t be Raihan already, surely. He was going to pick you up at 3pm.

You stopped cleaning your Corviknights feathers, making a mental note of how far you’d gotten to pick up later. He made a disgruntled sound at you leaving his side, but you patted him affectionately and told him you’d be a minute. Carefully stepping over your Tyranitar’s tail as he napped by your garden door, you moved into the house and opened the door. You really wish you’d checked who it was before doing so.

Sam stood before you, a sullen look on his face. It was the face he made when he knew he’d done something wrong but was going to try to use affection to glaze over it. You nearly slammed the door in his face, but instead stood there, not making a move to let him in.

‘What?’ you asked, no emotion showing on your face. You were angry with him. You were going to be strong. It was time to have the breakup chat.

‘(Name), I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed us too far yesterday,’ he started, in exactly the same tone and facial expressions he pulled out for these scenarios, which happened way too often in your opinion. Perfectly rehearsed too. Made to pull on your heartstrings. Well, it wasn’t going to work this time. 

‘Look, Sam, I’ll get straight to the point. We’re not working-’

‘I was just so stressed out, you know? Like I lost a gym match the other day, you know Opal’s? I just wanted some experience before I tried again. You know this, (Name), that’s all it was. It won’t happen again,’ he rambled on, eyes pleading for you to let him in. 

You sighed, his pleading having no effect on you once you remembered the state your pokemon were in yesterday.

‘Sam, we’re not working out. I want to break up,’ you said the words full of resolve, looking straight at him.

There was a beat of silence between you, as if Sam was processing what you said. You were bracing yourself for the anger, but you didn’t back away.

Suddenly, tears were welling up in his eyes as Sam dropped to his knees on the concrete in front of your door. He placed his hands on the ground as if he were bowing to you. ‘Please, (Name), I need you. Don’t leave me,’ he sobbed loudly, as tremors shook his whole body.

…What the fuck? Was he being serious right now?!

You glanced around, feeling self-conscious that he was crying and bowing down in front of you in the street, and people were looking.

You were shocked beyond words right now. What was he doing? This was all an act, right…?

But you had never seen him cry, not once. Your heart lurched in regret whilst seeing him there. You had prepared for his anger, maybe even a couple of hits if it got that far, but not this.

You noticed more people staring and panicked. ‘Sam, get up. Let’s talk inside.’

His sobbing seemed to have subsided a little and he sniffled as he made his way into your house.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So folks, this is where things get a bit stressful. There'll be talk of attempted suicide in this chapter, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please DO NOT read this chapter! You may skip to the next one, as that's pretty much all that happens in this one, and I'll make it so that in the next chapter it reads well enough that you understand what happened without the detail. I've added the tags too.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who sticks around and comments on my fic! Honestly, your encouragement is what makes me continue this! Thank you so much! :D

‘(Name), please, don’t leave me, please,’ Sam was a fumbling mess of tears as he sat on your sofa. 

You stood on the other side of the room, watching him. You had steeled yourself for the breakup talk and seeing him like this made you soft… but it didn’t change your mind.

‘Sam, we need to have this conversation. What happened yesterday crossed the line. We need to break up,’ you said, eyes never leaving his to make sure he knew you were serious.

‘No, (Name), yesterday was just a mistake!’ he cried, getting up off the sofa and rushing towards you to hug you. You stiffened at the contact and pushed him off. 

‘Sam, we’re over,’ you sighed. ‘Please leave now. I don’t want to see you again.’ You moved to the side of the door and motioned for him to leave.

‘No, no, please (Name), one more chance! That’s all I ask! I’ll make it up to you, I will!’ You recognised the look of genuine desperation in his eyes as he said this. 

You shook your head slowly, and before you could repeat it again (you would repeat it as many times as needed), he said something that made your blood run cold.

‘I’ll kill myself!’ he shouted, the tears drying up slightly.

‘… What?’ you gasped, barely able to believe your ears.

‘I can’t live without you, (Name). You make me so happy; I love you so much. I need you. If you won’t be with me, then there’s no point in living!’ He ran to your kitchen and came back with a knife faster than you could comprehend what he had said.

Fucking hell. He was going to kill himself, in your house, in front of you.

Your pulse spiked as if you were running a marathon, yet you couldn’t move from your spot, frozen by fear.

‘I’ll do it, I’ll kill myself! Without you, I will!’ Sam pushed the knife to his neck and drew a single drop of blood.

You were about to faint. What the fuck was going on?! You hated Sam, but you didn’t want him to die! But then your only option was…

Imae suddenly burst into the kitchen from your garden door and ran over to you. He was so fast, he scared Sam as he whizzed past him from behind, making him jump and narrowly miss cutting his neck. The knife slid out of his hand and dropped onto the floor with a clang.

Imae reached up and grabbed your hand with his, tugging you down towards him hard. The touch contact, as if by magic, jump started your motor skills, and you kicked the knife away from Sam as he crumpled into the ground from the stress, holding his head in his hands.

You clutched the kitchen counter for some stability, breathing hard from holding your breath the last minute, before taking in Sam’s now curled up posture on the floor, hugging his knees.

The hell you could leave him like this. With a deep sigh, you closed your eyes. ‘Let’s stay together,’ you barely whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so now we're getting into attempted rape territory. The end of the chapter implies that this is where it's headed, but is by no means graphic (it's a conversation with light touching described). Still, if you feel uncomfortable with this, please do not read the chapter! I've also added tags for this too now.

After your suggestion to break up with him, Sam had attempted to kill himself in front of you, and insisted he needed you to stay with him the whole day. You begrudgingly cancelled your plans with Raihan yet again.

After about an hour of awkward apologies and stiff hugs, Sam returned to a normal state of mind and began to relax, but his demeanour changed. He kept asking if you were okay, made you lunch, and was overall being super nice to you. He let you watch what you wanted to on TV (rather than insisting on what he wanted to watch), he massaged your back for you, and he played nicely with your pokemon in the garden. He even let out his own pokemon to get them to bond, which was extremely rare.

His behaviour made you sick. He was trying to win you over, you knew this, but who knew how long this would last? You knew his true colours, and he would go back to being an abusive partner again with time. He acted like he was in debt to you, he would be nice to you for a while and then think he’d paid it off, or worse yet – expect you to do something for him. 

Meanwhile, your anxious mood was grating on your pokemon, who had gone from serenely happy in the morning to downright irritable by the evening when you tried to put them to bed. All of them were snappy and tired and just in a bad mood, but you tried to give them a bit of respite (and yourself, to be honest) when you sat and played with them alone while Sam was in the shower. They were settled enough for sleep after that.

All except one energetic imp, who had decided to sleep out of his pokeball tonight.

Imae refused to leave your side all day. He’d been inside the house longer than you’d ever remembered him to on a sunny day. He purposefully sat between you and Sam on the sofa, while you were all eating, and sometimes blocked Sam from holding your hand with his own. Sam had said jokingly it was as if Imae was his rival in love and laughed at the prospect. For some reason the idea had made you feel warm as you thought about it – not only in temperature, but the type of warmth that blossomed in your chest and grew to reach the farthest tips of your fingers and toes. Not wanting to elaborate on what that meant, you pushed the warmth back under.

You had not let down your guard once since Sam had come over, and by around 10pm when you were both getting ready for bed (he decided to stay the night), you collapsed onto the bed just willing the night away so he could leave quicker tomorrow. He had work tomorrow, so you knew you would be safe from him to gather your thoughts about what to do next with him. He needed professional help, and the least you could do was help him through it… right?

You felt the bed dip as Sam got under the covers with you and spooned you from behind. You both stayed silent for a beat in the darkness until you felt Sam’s hands trail underneath your pyjama t-shirt. Panic made your eyes fly open and turn to him.

‘What the fu-’ you caught yourself before you swore. You needed to be careful around him unless you triggered another one of his… episodes like today. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Shh, babe, it’s okay. I just…’ You saw his eyes sparkle with gentleness in the light from your window. ‘I just want to be intimate. I know it’s your first time, but I need you. I love you. Please let me have you,’ his hand trailed up your side to your neck, then back down again to your bum. You contained the urge to retch and push him away. 

‘Sam, I’m not ready. Please, don’t make me do this,’ you said, fear bubbling up in your stomach. All you could think of was, ‘is he going to kill himself if he doesn’t have sex with me?’


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there's attempted rape in this chapter! It's getting pretty established within the story line, so if you're uncomfortable with this, please please DO NOT READ. 
> 
> There'll be no more of this in future chapters though.

Sam let out a short breathy laugh. ‘I’m not making you do anything,’ he said, moving a bit closer to you on the bed. ‘We’re together, this is natural. And it’s not like we just got together, either, we’ve been dating for just under a year.’ He wrapped his arms around your middle and brought your face close to his.

‘In fact, we should’ve done this a long time ago,’ he leant in, pressing his lips to yours.

Your eyes were open, mind desperately trying to come up with an excuse for deterring him from what he was trying to do. You had always put off having sex with Sam anytime he initiated because you couldn’t shake how wrong being sexual with him felt. You always gave him plethora of excuses, each different every time. But this time was different. He needed you to be intimate now, and who knows what he would do if you said no.

His hands trailed your sides as you were as still as a statue, barely moving your lips against his. His tongue entered your mouth and you tried to stop the bile rising past your chest. Your whole body shook with fear, and yet you felt you had no choice but to follow through with this. You were beginning to panic.

He switched positions to on top of you and pulled your pyjama t-shirt over your head. You looked down and caught a glimpse of Sam underneath his pants; he was hard.

Your eyes widened and the panic finally set in. Fuck! Fuck this is so wrong! You didn’t care about what Sam would say, you needed to stop this right now! You couldn’t go through with this!

Forcefully, you pushed Sam away enough so you could sit up on the bed and pulled your knees to your chest protectively.

‘Sam, I don’t want this,’ you said at the same time he shot you a confused look.

‘(Name), please,’ his tone was less pleading now, and you could hear his anger seeping through his voice. You almost felt relieved at this, because at least he was on the other end of the spectrum from suicide… hopefully.

‘No. No I can’t. I don’t want to do this, not now,’ you reiterated. And not ever, you thought.

‘Fuck!’ he shouted suddenly making you jump. ‘Can’t you do one fucking thing for me, (Name)?! I would fucking die for you!’ He ran a hand through his hair, nearly pulling it out.

Idly, you thought if that’s what he meant by his suicide, because you were sure as hell he wouldn’t give his life for you. You almost voiced this to him but stayed silent as he seethed.

Was Sam above rape? The thought made your face drain of colour. Were you going to be raped? In comparison you’d rather take his suicidal self having sex with you than his angry self… No, you'd rather not take any! Rape was not something to be just settled with!

You sat staring at each other, you on high alert and sweating buckets, whilst Sam was having an internal debate in his mind. You could tell from his conflicted eyes, and you had to wonder whether he thought if he took what he wanted from you, you would turn him into the authorities. 110% you would.

Then, you heard the door to your bedroom creep open, and you jumped in surprise for the second time that night. You heard a mewl, and both of your heads shot to the pokemon peeping through the crack in the door, momentarily distracted. 

It was Imae. And he was crying.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter! The romance is budding! Slowly but surely haha

As if all your anguish was forgotten, you flew off the bed to him, taking him in your arms. ‘What’s wrong, Imae?’

But as soon as you touched him, you knew what was wrong. It was you. Your emotions had such a strong effect on him that they were manifesting in tears. Tears that you were too shit-scared to release right now. 

‘Shh, it’s okay, I’m okay,’ you cooed, lifting him up off the floor, Imae wrapping his arms around your neck. His legs wrapped around your body. His face was buried into your neck, the wetness from his eyes trailing down your collarbone. He hadn’t been this clingy since he was an Impidimp, which broke your heart.

You slowly turned to the subject of your pain, sitting on the bed, watching you two curiously. 

‘You two are fucked up. Is he reacting to your emotions? How close do you have to be with a pokemon for that to happen?’ Sam said with ice in his voice, as if you and Imae were the weird ones.

‘We’re close enough,’ you said quietly. ‘I’m going to settle him…’

Sam scoffed. ‘Yeah, whatever.’ He got back into bed with his back towards you.

You left your bedroom and closed the door behind you. You walked with Imae stuck to you into the living room and collapsed onto your sofa, sighing shakily. You didn’t realise you were trembling until now.

That was way too close for comfort.

You shuddered to know what decision Sam would have come to if he had been given more time to think. Imae’s interruption, whether he had meant it on purpose or not, had saved you from potentially being raped.

You hugged him close, rocking gently. As your relief washed over you, Imae’s condition drastically improved. He’d stopped crying but refused to let go of you.

‘Thanks buddy,’ you whispered to him. He gave a grunt of approval.

After 20 minutes or so, Imae grew fidgety and you knew he had pretty much calmed down, as had you. You released him slowly, pulling apart to look at him. He was grinning at you.

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your lips, though understandably it was tinged with sadness.

You trailed your fingertips through his hair from the side of his temple to a spot behind his ears. How damn lucky was this little imp for you? You fondly remembered the first time you’d met him. How different would your life be if he wasn’t in it? And you were the one who didn’t want him! He was your only friend who had been through, quite literally with the emotions, everything with you. 

‘I love you, Imae,’ you said, becoming a bit teary eyed. ‘Thanks for choosing me.’

He grinned wider at your confession and surprised you by putting both hands firmly on your shoulders. Then, he licked your lips. It was brief, but the contact was so intimate it sent a shock through your whole body. 

Out of instinct, you licked your lips, tasting his saliva. It was sour, oddly, but then again you had never pondered what Imae would taste like. You suddenly felt an explosion of butterflies in your stomach, and heat rise to your cheeks, colouring your skin pink all the way to your ears.

You looked at him, still in a daze. He kept his same expression as he looked at you, then he buried his face into your chest (which was still only clad in your bra, as Sam had removed your t-shirt), and somehow you knew what this was. 

This was a kiss. Imae had given you his version of a kiss.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one to tie over to the next chapters. 
> 
> Honestly, thanks so much for your comments! I read them all, and it's no warming to know my writing is worth people's time :D

For protection, you had your Tyranitar and Corviknight sleep out of their pokeballs (despite having to wake them up and briefly explain the situation, they didn’t mind and were your go to pokemon in terms of support like this). You curled up on the sofa with a blanket and Imae hugged tight to your chest, and your Tyranitar slept by your side on the floor (with as many pillows as you could find him). Your Corviknight perched itself by your head and fell asleep there.

Knowing that three of your most trusted companions were with you that night, you finally gave into sleep and was out cold for the whole night. You woke to the sound of hissing and growling, and when you opened your eyes you saw Sam cautiously trying to approach you on the other side of your alert Tyranitar and Corviknight. ‘Yep, perfect choices for bodyguards,’ you thought fondly. Imae on the other hand, was still asleep and had somehow ended up spooning your back during the night.

Carefully extracting yourself from Imae, you sat up and calmed your two large pokemon. ‘Are you going to work now?’ you asked Sam, who was dressed to leave the house.

‘Yeah…’ He made no effort to approach you, still seemingly scared of your pokemon, but he looked like he had something to say as he hovered.

You stayed silent as you waited for him to leave.

After a minute of silence, he spoke up. ‘See you later?’ 

‘Not today. I have plans,’ you replied. You hadn’t checked with Raihan, but you were going to try to see him today. Even if you had to go to the stadium. After you fobbed him off yesterday, you had this urgent feeling that if you messed around with him anymore, he’d leave you altogether like the rest of your friends Sam had driven away.

You could tell Sam was biting back his immediate response to ask what your plans were. He thought twice and sighed. ‘I’ll let you know when then.’ With that, he left for work.

You immediately got up and hugged your Tyranitar and Corviknight, kissing them each and thanking them from the bottom of your heart. They responded in kind, smiling widely at your much better mood than the last two days.

Then, you picked up your phone and rang Raihan. Luckily, he was free today as well as he had two days of break from gym matches and training. He agreed to pick you up around 3pm again today. You assured him there was no way you’d cancel this time, as Sam was at work until 6pm (so even if he did come over unexpectedly, you hopefully wouldn’t be home to see him). 

Thankful your best friend hadn’t given up on you, you had a spring in your step as you jumped in the shower. Then, you got to baking cookies for your pokemon to pass the time until 3pm.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are looking up now!

‘Hey!’ you beamed up at Raihan as you answered the door, moving aside to let him in. You were so happy to see him.

‘Hey,’ Raihan repeated, walking in and you shut the door behind him. ‘You okay?’ he asked tentatively.

‘Yeah, you?’ You followed him into your kitchen and saw him pick a cookie off a tray. ‘Ah, those are sour!’

You rushed over before Raihan put one in his mouth. He chuckled before putting it back down, then realising there were around five piles of treats on the table.

‘Yeah I’m good. Did I miss a birthday or something…?’ Raihan gestured at the abundance of treats.

‘Um, no.’ The memories of yesterday’s events crinkled your face in pain. ‘I have a lot to be thankful to my pokemon for.’ You handed Raihan the plate with the sweet cookies on it.

‘How?’ he asked before devouring a cookie. His eyes lit up as he tasted them. ‘These are great!’

‘Thanks… and um, I just…’ your voice trailed off as you looked everywhere but Raihan’s piercing gaze. He knew something was up. Of course he did. He was the closest friend you’d ever had.

Raihan sighed, confirming what you had just thought. ‘Look, (Name). I want you back. We’ve never spoken about it before, but I’m bringing it up now. You’re not yourself. I can see how much pain you’re in.’ He touched your shoulder gently. ‘Tell me about Sam.’

You met his gaze full of concern, and that was all it took. You caved and told Raihan everything about your relationship with Sam. From how it had started off with small things, to the forced pokemon battles, then to last night’s suicide and rape attempt.

‘Shit, (Name)…’ was all Raihan could say after you’d finished. He’d stayed silent, occasionally reaching out a hand to rub your back, seeing you hold back tears or shake with fear at the memories. 

‘I had no idea this was going on. Why didn’t you tell me before?’ His eyes were laced with genuine empathy. 

‘I just… didn’t think it was anything to tell someone over, until yesterday. He’d do lots of smaller things, but nothing big enough to warrant help over. But…’ You steadied your breathing. ‘I think I need help now, Raihan. I need help to escape from him.’

Raihan gave you a small smile. ‘Yeah, of course. We gotta report him to the police.’

Your eyes went wide. ‘What?’

‘(Name), think about it. He nearly raped you! I’m so fucking angry with him that I could honestly beat the shit out of him… but I’d rather see him do time for it,’ Raihan’s jaw was clenched, and you knew he meant every word.

‘I…’ you started, then stopped to think. What did you want? You were ready to report him last night if he’d had his way with you, and you still stood by that. But nothing had actually happened; he didn’t do anything more than touch you a few times and kiss you. He had blackmailed you into doing it, but you didn’t give in to him. Besides, you didn’t have any evidence. It was his word against yours.

‘Would anyone believe me?’ you asked Raihan. ‘I can’t prove this to the police.’

It was Raihan’s turn to think, a conflicted look on his face. ‘It’ll be hard to prove to get him actually locked up, but it’ll put a dent in his pristine record with the police. He’ll have a history of people reporting him. It’ll hurt if he tries to get a new job or something.’

You nodded. ‘I’ll do it. If nothing happens, that’s also fine. But at least I won’t be forced to be his girlfriend anymore.’ 

Raihan turned towards you and pulled you into a hug. He was a giant, and your face was buried in the middle of his chest. ‘But you know, I believe you. I always will,’ he whispered that last part as he swayed with you in his arms gently.

It took all your inner strength not to cry in front of him. You breathed in his familiar scent as you returned his hug, wondering how you had survived so long without touch comfort from another human being.

Suddenly, you felt something climb up your legs and tickle the bottom of your stomach, forcing you apart from Raihan with a giggle.

‘What the…?’ Raihan looked down. ‘Imae? We were having a moment, you know! Read the mood!’ He patted the mischievous imp’s head affectionately, who climbed up Raihan and was now sitting atop his shoulders.

‘Ah, that’s why,’ you thought as you smiled at them both. ‘All my comfort up until now was from Imae.’


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick update to get the story moving again. Will be frequent updates again for a while now! Planning to finish this soon :)
> 
> Thanks for your comments! They honestly do mean a lot to me!

You held your hands tightly together in your lap as Raihan sat next to you, scrolling through his phone. You were both currently sitting in Hammerlocke’s police station, waiting for an officer to take your statement.

You were going to report Sam. Whether they believed you or not, it had to be done. You had to try. Raihan was right.

After about 10 minutes, a police officer called your name. Raihan alerted to this too and made to stand up. You were quicker though, and placed a hand on his shoulder, mentioning for him to stay there.

“I’ll be fine now, Raihan. I’ve got this,” you said with the best smile you could muster in your nervous state, and Raihan assessed you. After a beat of silence, he nodded.

“I’ll be here. Take your time, I won’t go anywhere.” He squeezed your hand and let you go.

With a deep breath, you steadied yourself and followed the officer into a private room. When you had both sat down, the officer spoke.

“I’m PC Dawson. (Name), right?” he said, with a friendly smile. He couldn’t be over 40 years old, you thought, and had light wrinkles that etched his smile into his face. “How can I help you today?”

“I, um…” You wrung your hands together again, an action that wasn’t missed by the PC, who gauged your intense stress at that moment.

You steadied your voice. “I’d like to report someone who’s been abusive to me.”

PC Dawson’s face empathised with you, rather than being accusatory, and so you decided to continue. You told him everything that you told Raihan earlier in the day, and even some more details you had recently remembered. He took you seriously, occasionally jotting down some notes.

Once you’d finished, he sighed. “(Name), honestly I’m sorry you had to go through all that. He sounds like a right bastard.” He rubbed his stubble in thought. “However, there’s not an awful lot we can do. We can’t give him time, or a penalty, but we can talk to him. We can issue him a warning, something along the lines of staying away from you.”

You felt your heart skip a couple beats in anticipation. Sam not being near you, by enforcement of the police? Brilliant. You couldn’t ask for more. You didn’t need any more. You just wanted him away from you. 

“Yes, please,” you said, resolution in your eyes.

“If he breaks it, you can report him again and we can discuss further action. Sound good?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then I’ll ring him now.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally happening...! XD

You could hear Sam’s angry voice on the other side of the phone as PC Dawson was talking to him but couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. Dawson was calm and collected, experience showing through the tone he took, as he clearly stated the warning.

After he had finished, he asked you if there was anything else you’d like to bring up, to which you said no, and left the room.

Raihan was waiting for you outside, still on his phone (no surprises there), but immediately jumped up once he saw you. “Everything okay?”

You let go of your breath you had been holding. “Yeah, I’m fine. He issued a warning. If Sam comes near me, I can report him to the police again and they’ll escalate.”

“I’m so proud of you, (Name),” Raihan pulled you into a quick hug.

“Thanks,” you said into his chest. After he let go, you looked up at him. “And thanks for staying. Just knowing you were outside helped me so much.”

“Don’t worry about it!” He grinned at you. “Wanna go get dinner?”

You nodded, then followed him to your favourite restaurant down the road. Your dinner was fun, and you were slowly coming to the realisation that Sam was no longer going to be in your life. You blocked him on all social media and your phone, and it felt so liberating. 

It was around 7pm by the time Raihan walked you home, and he made sure you locked the door before he left – just because the police had warned Sam to stay away doesn’t mean he would. You jumped in the shower as quick as you could, and finally got to releasing your Pokémon from their pokeballs for some quick play time before bed.

Imae was last to be released, and he noticed the change in your mental state almost immediately. He laughed in what you could only assume was happiness, and you found yourself laughing with him. It was the first time you’d smiled properly in ages.

As you let your pokemon run free around your house and garden, you went to clear the kitchen up a bit from your baking this morning. Rustling around in your cupboards, you found a couple of rare candies in the corner, apparently forgotten about. 

“I wonder where these came from…?” you whispered absentmindedly and placed them on the kitchen counter. Ah, that’s right, you’d hidden them from Imae! That’s why they were forgotten about. Maybe you should just use them up before they expired? 

As if on que, your sneaky little imp appeared in the kitchen. Out of reflex, you grabbed the candy away from him, but he hadn’t even seen it yet.

…But now he had. 

“Imae, no.” you warned him, keeping hold of the candy in your hands.

You could see the little cogs in his head turn as he jumped up on the counter close to you, snickering at the challenge of winning over the candy. He gave a couple of swipes at you, but you easily dodged.

But then again, when was the last time Imae had levelled up? It was quite a while ago, but he should be close to the next one by now. What was the harm in actually letting him eat them this time?

“Wait, wait! You can have them!” You held out your hands, and Imae quirked his eyebrow at you giving up so easily. You never let him have them for free.

“I think you’re close to levelling up? You might as well,” you shrugged at him. “Plus they’re close to their expiry date. I forgot I hid them from you,” you laughed at him a bit.

Imae smiled widely and took the three candies from you, scoffing them all in his mouth at once. 

“Slowly!” You worried about him choking, as he often did by stuffing his mouth. Not unlike the first time you’d met him.

Once he’d gobbled them down safely, you were about to finish your cleaning, but froze at the faint white light emitting from your Morgrem on the counter. You heart fluttered in your chest, and your stomach decided to hatch a million butterflies. 

Imae was evolving.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG SORRY for being so slow with updates for this fic! I had some lovely comments which made me realise how much I love this fic and want to complete it, so thank you!
> 
> I'll do my best to continue this at a good pace!

You held your breath as the white light spiralled around Imae, eventually becoming too bright to look at, so you shielded your eyes. When it had dimmed down and you were able to look at him again, the first feeling that shot through your system was…

Awe.

Imae was no longer up to your knees in height, but rather a little bit taller than you. He’d bulked up so much, and the only way that you could describe his form was muscular. You traced him upwards with your eyes, trying to take in all the changes to his appearance, from his skinny waist to his broad chest, until you saw his face. He was staring straight at you, yet made no move towards you, almost as if he was letting you analyse him. Whilst his skin had changed from a purple to green, you noticed that his nose was still upturned, and a little part of you was relieved. You loved to kiss him gently on the tip, whilst snuggling into his hair after… which made you realise something else. He was covered in his hair?! 

Before you could ponder that fact, Imae let out a gruff noise, telling you that he was getting bored at your lack of words for him. It made your stomach stir at how deep it was, but you quickly recovered.

“Well done, Imae!” you beamed at him, genuinely happy that he’d evolved safely (and you were there to see it). You rounded the kitchen table, unsure if giving him a hug was the right thing to do. It’s not like you feared him (heck, you had an angry Gyarados outside!) but this was different somehow. You felt a type of tension you’d never thought you’d feel.

…Imae was too humanoid for you, and it troubled you very, very much. You didn’t know why, but it scared you into pushing all potentially forbidden feelings deeper into the hole you’d dug in your chest. 

Mentally shaking free of these thoughts, you reached out for Imae’s hand instead, which he let you take. He took a step closer to you, almost towering over you with his presence, as you bought his hand to your chest.

It had the same texture as when he was a Morgrem and was soft. You guessed he could probably harden his hair just like his previous evolution too. Suddenly, his hair began to unravel around his hand, revealing the skin of his green hand beneath. Imae clutched your hand in his three fingers, and the grip was so firm you looked up at him, aware of the proximity between your bodies. His eyes were still the same bright red as before, and he was almost pleading with you to understand what he wanted to convey.

Your breath felt like it was stolen from you, and with a heavy heart you recognised the feeling you’d been trying to push down for so long now. You felt so dirty and ashamed. How could this be?

You were in love with your Grimmsnarl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think about this chapter because it's a massive turning point?! Tbh I have an idea of where I want this to go, but there was always going to be the taboo of this topic. I hope this doesn't make me weird ._.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG guys 20 chapters!! Officially the longest fic I have ever written in my life! 
> 
> Thank you so much to those who read this, leave Kudos and write encouraging comments for me - I do read every single one and respond to them, they mean a lot to me! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

You felt like you wanted to throw up everything you’d eaten that day and cry simultaneously. The feeling made you let go of Imae’s hand and push him away, with a little more force than you’d meant to. Imae barely stumbled but got the point, stepping back a bit to give you space.

You sighed, trying to contain any type of outburst, and put your face in your palms. Your breathing was starting to get heavy, and you began to sweat. What on earth was going on with you?! Since when were you into Pokémon like that?! You felt your anxiety creeping up by the second. You wanted to deny it. You wanted to reverse time and plug all the emotions you felt that built up to this point… all the little things you did especially for Imae, all the warm fuzzy feelings, all the times you thought Imae was treating you special. 

Wait… how did Imae feel about all this?! Your revelation had shocked you so much you forgot that Imae had probably sensed your romantic emotion through holding his hand earlier. Was he disgusted? Did he think you were a bad trainer? Heck, did he even understand romantic feelings and relationships?

…Did he want to leave you?

You knew Imae was watching you intently, yet you refused to look in his direction, until this thought forced you. You had to know, and quick. The thought of him leaving you was so much more painful than you’d expected, and the pain cleared your head, giving way yet again to another strong piece of evidence that you couldn’t deny the nature of your love.

Imae met your eyes, and you knew. You knew he wasn’t going to leave you. The thought never even crossed his mind. He was waiting for this evolution, biding his time until he could have you. 

He loved you back.

As his trainer, his friend, his romantic interest, you knew. The two of you were so in tune with each other’s emotions, there was no mistaking the way Imae was looking at you. There was an endless depth to his affections for you, and you had to wonder if anyone had ever loved you this much in your life. It was almost radiating off of Imae in waves as he stood there, basking in the fact that he’d sensed the feeling was mutual from you.

However, the realisation of it all felt like someone had kicked you hard in your stomach. Were you happy? Sad? Disappointed? Regretful? …Scared? Realistically, you were all of those at once. 

As you held Imae’s gaze, mind and heart racing at this information overload, a single question was at the forefront of your mind.

What happens now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thank you for creating a safe space for me, I don't feel judged at all! It's actually made me change the direction of this fic slightly. It was always nsfw, but I am actually thinking of writing some reader x Imae smut. What do you guys think about this? Yay or nay? (...Am I just inviting the judgement now?! ahaha)


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again so quickly! Two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll ahaha

Unfortunately, as much as you wanted to ponder this so you could find an answer, you were interrupted by a violent banging on your front door. The sound made you jump, and you saw Imae whip his head towards the sound, instantly tensing up as he sensed danger.

A moment later, you knew the reason for his bared teeth and clenched fists.

“(Name), it’s Sam. Please open up, we need to talk.” The voice made your blood run cold despite the tender tone it carried. What was he doing here?!

You were silent with fear as you tried to come up with a solution. Should you open the door…? No! Of course that wasn’t an option. Who knows what he would do to you? Should you ring Raihan? Or the police again? He shouldn’t be here! The police gave him a warning today, he should know not to be here!

“(Name), I know you reported me to the police today, but I’m not angry. I know I’m risking a lot to be here, but you’re worth it… we’re worth it. Please don’t let us break up because of this…” Sam’s voice was breaking on the other side of the front door, as if he were about to cry. You imagined the tears in his eyes and the way his mouth would downturn crinkling his chin, signature of his crying face.

… And it made you weak. You hated this hold he still had over you. 

Like a reflex, you moved towards the front door and was about to open it when you were met with a strong chest of hair. Imae was standing between you and the door, and he’d crossed the distance so fast you hadn’t even noticed until you’d bumped into him.

Confused, you looked up at him, and it immediately grounded you. The way he gazed at you, as if you were the only thing that mattered to him, the only thing that WILL ever matter to him, took your breath away.

“(Name)… Please, I can’t go on with out you…” You could hear Sam was near enough sobbing now, and annoyance panged in the back of your mind.

However, Imae’s gaze didn’t waver. He was hiding nothing from you, and you felt his anger spike a little at Sam’s voice. You were already close enough to feel the edges of his breath on your lips, yet he took your hand, wrapping his hair around it and moving his face closer to yours.

“(Name), please… open the door,” Sam cried, but you barely registered it. Your mind was swirling with Imae inching closer and closer to your face, the green skin of his hand finally finding yours through his hair, sending a pulse of emotion through your body with the heat.

Imae touched his nose to yours, in what was the single sweetest physical connection you’d had with another being. His teeth being the way they were, with no lips, you imagined this was as close to a kiss as you were going to get with him. But the emotion was the same, and it made you feel alive for the first time in years.

The soft touching of your noses was short and sweet, but it was enough. When you pulled away and looked at Imae once more, it solidified what your next course of action should be.  
With your hand still intertwined in Imae’s digits, you led him away from the door to make a phone call, knowing that he would be with you through this no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first romantic kiss! ...Kind of haha
> 
> And Sam's on his way out! Hurrah!!


End file.
